Moore: Infusion of youth is making big difference on Cowboys’ defense

3/11

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RB Ray Rice/ He might be small but Rice packs a punch and is arguably the most dangerous back in the NFL. Whether it's on the ground or catching passes, Rice can do it all. He leads the team in receptions with 22 and has rushed for 374 yards. If that's not enough to convince you that he's a dynamic offensive threat, Rice is averaging five yards per carry and over 120 total yards per game.

IRVING — Virtually every cornerback in the NFL has a target on his jersey.

Rookie cornerbacks have that target painted in neon.

The Cowboys obviously thought a lot of Morris Claiborne. The club gave up a second-round pick — a pick that likely would have started for this team — to move up in the first round to select him.

He hasn’t disappointed.

Claiborne doesn’t have an interception. But he’s been solid in coverage and has given up precious few big plays. What’s noticeable about the 34-yard touchdown pass he gave up to Chicago’s Devin Hester in the third quarter of the Cowboys’ last game is that it’s the only scoring play he’s allowed this season.

“Like I told him, he’s pretty much just getting started. He has a bright future.’’

One of the Cowboys’ goals entering this season was to become younger, stronger and faster on defense. Claiborne heads the charge.

The rookie cornerback out of LSU has been a starter from Day 1. He has played in more than 95 percent of the team’s defensive snaps and has not come off the field for more than four plays in any game.

Inside linebacker Bruce Carter was severely limited last season as he came off major knee surgery. The rookie was credited with only one tackle in 10 games.

Carter now starts next to Sean Lee and is fourth on the team in tackles with 24. His speed from sideline to sideline has provided a significant boost to this defense and has rendered veteran acquisition Dan Connor to a backup role.

Tyrone Crawford has quietly worked his way into the defensive line rotation. The third-round pick out of Boise State has been on the field for 39 plays over the last three games. He has five tackles and ranks fourth on the team in quarterback pressures (three) behind DeMarcus Ware, Anthony Spencer and Jason Hatcher.

A conscious effort has been made to work Crawford into the rotation. The coaching staff will also find spots for fourth-round pick Kyle Wilber now that the outside linebacker has returned from a broken thumb that delayed his debut.

“There are going to be some situations that there might be another player who is more capable of handling that specific situation at that particular time, a more veteran player has done it a lot more, but you have to say, ‘Hey, we think this guy, over time, if we give him chances, is going to be better than that other guy, and we’ve got to start getting him out there and see how he handles it.’

“Now again, you don’t want to put a player in a situation where he can’t do a job or he’s going to compromise your team because he can’t do a job, but you’re always having a balancing act there.’’

There is no balancing act with Claiborne. He can do the job.

Carr finds himself spending the majority of his time on the opponent’s lead receiver. That means he will be in a wrestling match with Baltimore’s Anquan Boldin this weekend.

Claiborne will have Torrey Smith, which is no easy task. Now that he has given up his first touchdown pass, it will be interesting to see how he responds.

He’s not trying to hide.

“It was all on me,’’ Claiborne said of the scoring pass to Hester. “I feel like we had a good call up at that time. It was just me playing it wrong, playing it to the outside when I know I should have been inside.

“Chalk it up, learn from it and come back stronger the next time.’’

Claiborne concedes he’s anxious for his first interception. But the goal is to do such a good job of covering the receiver that the quarterback looks elsewhere.

“I’m still confident in my game and what we’re doing as a team,’’ Claiborne said. “If I came out every day and said, ‘No one will catch a ball on me,’ you could think that, but it’s not reality.

“I know that’s going to happen. You can’t go in a shell or they’re going to throw over there all night. You have to be confident in what you’re doing and not let it happen again.’’

The Cowboys are confident they have some good, young players to incorporate into this defense.

It shows.

Catch David Moore on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310) for Intentional Grounding every Wednesday night from 7-8 p.m. during the regular season.

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